Ouya Kickstarter ends at over $8 million

Android-based console Ouya has far exceeded its original Kickstarter goal. The team asked for $950,000 to help fund the project; as of today, the campaign has ended at a dizzying $8,596,475. So, regardless of all the debate about whether or not it will succeed, people really want this thing.

An official website for the console is now live, complete with pre-orders, which run $109. Ouya supports four controllers, and will sport Final Fantasy 3 as a launch title.

Ouya launches March for Kickstarter backers, and April for everyone else. The developers previously noted that they expect the final product to be fairly small, about the size of a Rubik's Cube.

Well, with nearly 10 times it's intended payment, this system better be pretty good. I, for one, am glad to hear that FF3 is going to be a release title, but it's not going to sell the system to me with that alone.

$8 million isn't much not with consoles anyway. Yes this system isn't ultra high end and isn't designed to be, but there is the importing of parts, production, marketing and shipping that needs to be done. You don't do that on $8 million not with the hardware they have chosen at least. What I assume is that this Kickstarter was used primarily to get the OUYA into the hands of backers, and to give outside investors solid info that people want this device. This project will set them back possibly $100 million, right now they have $8 million, they need more and they probably have the financial support for that lined up already.

BlackLabel But, if that's true, why would they originally ask for just $950 thousand? I mean obviously they were going to need more than that. I think I'm missing something with this whole kickstarter thing.

BlackLabel But, if that's true, why would they originally ask for just $950 thousand? I mean obviously they were going to need more than that. I think I'm missing something with this whole kickstarter thing.

Kickstarter these days is used in a way to get evidence that something is wanted by the public. In this case they asked for a modest sum of money something not too high to make them look greedy but something low enough to make it appear feasible. What they were more than likely after was the backers number which they then take to an investor as proof that people want this. Now not all kickstarters are like this, but the big ones usually are.

BlackLabel, they also privately funded some of the required money. I doubt it will set them back $100 million at all. Everything is likely to be put together in China anyways and the parts would amount to $50 at maximum given what they have in the system.